Chapter 217 - 214: A Story from the Past
"How very interesting!"
"To think that Master Xuan Yu, the peerless prodigy of the Xiangshan Sect who was once so famous and utterly despised the Demon Dao, would one day tread the path of a Ghost Cultivator... The world truly works in mysterious ways!"
Shen Chong gazed at the Dark Abyss before him, his voice low and spectral.
There was something particularly strange about him at this moment.
Although his voice sounded young,
his words carried the aged and steady cadence of an old man.
The jarring conflict
was like an old man in his twilight years reborn into the body of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old.
Meanwhile,
from his body,
a vast and boundless aura emanated wantonly.
His black robes fluttered without a wind,
and ripples of power, strong enough to make the very void tremble, began to spread outward.
"Demon Dao? Heh..."
"Was I not driven to this state by the so-called Righteous Dao?"
"But that no longer matters... I don’t know which old specter you are, but why have you come here?"
From the gloomy depths,
a cold, sinister voice echoed as if from the heart of the abyss itself.
Within the ink-black chasm, a darkness as thick as pitch began to flow like a stream, seeping out from the depths and gradually coalescing into a solid black shadow.
The moment the black shadow appeared,
the surrounding temperature plummeted,
becoming incomparably frigid!
CRACKLE, CRACKLE...
The two auras collided.
Their majestic, almost tangible power distorted space and tore visible cracks across the earth...
Under the oppressive might of their auras, even a Cultivator in the Soul Emergence Realm would likely be crushed to dust by the collision!
"It’s nothing. I have come here merely to borrow something from Master Xuan Yu..."
"Shen Chong’s" expression was placid as he spoke in a level voice.
He made no move,
as if completely unaffected by the overwhelming pressure emanating from the black figure.
Only the white light in his pupils seemed to form chains of Law, weaving and spinning, reflecting an infinitely profound radiance.
"What is it?"
Sensing his opponent’s placid calm and unfathomable aura,
the black figure grew slightly wary.
’I’ve only just broken free of my seal, and my power is severely depleted.’
’Once this short burst of strength is exhausted, I will be completely at the other’s mercy...’
It had no choice but to adopt a less aggressive posture.
"The Triumphant Creation, Yin and Yang..."
"Shen Chong" spoke softly,
but before he could finish,
"Courting death!"
Without a moment’s hesitation, the black figure’s expression changed drastically as it instantly turned hostile!
In an instant,
the dark void trembled violently. A boundless power, nearly enough to shatter the vacuum, erupted. A black torrent, like a world-engulfing tsunami, surged forward to annihilate "Shen Chong"!
"Was that really necessary?"
"Since you are unwilling, then I’ll just have to beat you into submission before we talk!"
As "Shen Chong’s" sigh faded,
instantly,
like a volcano suppressed for millennia, his power erupted with a deafening roar!
A boundless force
shot straight into the sky, shaking the firmament!
Shen Chong unleashed a terrifying, boundless power, crashing head-on towards the black figure!
In that instant,
BOOOOM!!!
Following the earth-shattering boom, the very ground of Qi Family Town began to tremble violently!
A vast and terrifying pressure swept across heaven and earth in an instant!
The great battle
erupted in a flash!
...
"Just... what kind of beings are fighting?!"
The vast auras erupted like a volcano, soaring into the sky and sweeping across the land for miles.
At this moment,
outside Qi Family Town, at the edge of the dark canopy,
Nangong City struggled to lift his head, his gaze fixed on the center of the Qi Family’s Treasury, a bitter look on his face.
The terrifying pressure coming from that direction
was so immense he could barely stand!
Unknown existences were clashing!
They were too strong!
Simply, unbelievably powerful!
The mere release of their auras stirred the clouds
and made both heaven and earth tremble violently!
Before those two terrifying, boundless auras,
Nangong City couldn’t help but feel like an ant facing a natural disaster, as if he could be crushed to death at any moment!
He had never felt anything like this before.
Even the Soul Emergence Realm Demon Cultivator he had faced at Wu Family Collection a month ago
was nowhere near this terrifyingly powerful!
"They must be above the Soul Emergence Realm... Perhaps Divine Travel, or maybe even a higher-level Master Profound Pill..."
Shen Changchuan also gazed in the direction where the two sky-piercing auras were clashing.
His expression was grave, and he sighed faintly in his heart.
’I wouldn’t go so far as to say they could grasp the sun and moon or pluck the stars,’
’but for beings of this level, changing the weather for miles around is a matter of a single thought.’
Before this level of power,
’the strength of the Soul Emergence Realm, which I’ve been so desperately pursuing, seems utterly insignificant...’
However,
even as he felt a blow to his confidence,
deep in his eyes,
a faint glimmer of anticipation ignited.
’Perhaps,’
’one day,’
’I too can reach such a level, pass through the Cyan Netherworld, and soar through the nine heavens and ten lands!’
Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but clench his fists.
"An aura like this... It has to be... But why would beings like them appear here?"
As he spoke,
Nangong City glanced at Shen Changchuan beside him.
’After all,’
’the Tian Nan Shen Clan only has a single being at the Divine Travel Realm...’
’But that one existence at the Divine Travel Realm is enough for the Shen Family to dominate this land for thousands of miles around!’
’For two such beings to appear now... could this impact the Shen Clan’s power structure...?’
However, this thought only flashed through Nangong City’s mind for a moment, and he didn’t dwell on it.
’Although Shen Changchuan is the son of the Shen Clan Leader,’
’it’s obvious from his current situation that their relationship is poor.’
’Besides, these are matters for great figures to consider. It’s laughable for two mere ants at the Qi Introduction Realm to be thinking about them.’
"Sigh, no matter which side wins, I just hope the battle ends quickly."
"Otherwise, to die in the aftershocks of a battle between unknown experts without knowing anything... that’d be too ridiculous a way to go."
Before Shen Changchuan could speak, Nangong City muttered to himself again.
It wasn’t that they were unwilling to leave, wanting to witness the grand power above the Qi Introduction Realm.
Rather, they were trapped within this dark canopy and simply could not leave.
Perhaps only after the battle in the core area reached a conclusion
would they be able to leave.
But by then,
they might have already been reduced to ash by the terrifying aftershocks of the battle!